Comparing Alternative Question Forms for Assessing Consumer Concerns

Studies of consumer concerns frequently ask “how concerned are you about…?” This question form assumes both concern and knowledge about the issue. Using split-sample experiments, this study examined the effects of alternative question forms utilizing initial filter questions to deal with these two problems. The questions dealing with Salmonella and Listeria bacteria were administered to a national sample of adult women and men. The alternative forms produced lower percentages of “very concerned” responses and higher percentages of “unaware” responses. The use of the awareness filter form was found to improve correlations between expressed concern and information use behaviors.     

Research into the motives and factors of investment activities of enterprises (by the example of companies in the Volga Federal District)

In the paper, the results of research into the determinants of the incremental investments of companies in the Volga Federal District (based on microeconomic data) are given. The paper is a continuation of the topic raised in the theoretical article of academician A.D. Nekipelov [1] on the motives of a company’s activities in a market economy. In this publication, the applied aspects of the problem are emphasized: on the one hand, the motivations and factors of a company’s activities (growth rates of the value of its fixed assets,noncurrent and total assets) and, on the other hand, an evaluation of the impact on the investment expenditures of factors, such as profitability, financial leverage, lag value of the growth in revenues, credit risk level, age, and the size and activity type of a company. Quantitative evaluations were obtained by using tobit models as applied to a sampling of panel data for 2001–2011 from the 500 largest nonfinancial companies in the Volga Federal District.     

Algorithms to compute CM- and S-estimates for regression

Constrained M-estimators for regression were introduced by Mendes and Tyler in 1995 as an alternative class of robust regression estimators with high breakdown point and high asymptotic efficiency. To compute the CM-estimate, the global minimum of an objective function with an inequality constraint has to be localized. To find the S-estimate for the same problem, we instead restrict ourselves to the boundary of the feasible region. The algorithm presented for computing CM-estimates can easily be modified to compute S-estimates as well. Testing is carried out with a comparison to the algorithm SURREAL by Ruppert.     

Technological change in the military aircraft industry

This paper analyzes technological change in the U.S. military aircraft industry. It divides this technological change into two components, methods of production and product quality innovations. The basic findings of this paper are obtained from a comparison of the F-4 and F-15 technologies. The results show that new production technologies reduce the costs of manufacturing a weapon system, but that product improvements substantially increase costs.     

Calibration in applied general equilibrium modelling: The case of rationed households

In this paper an adaptation of the general calibration method for applied equilibrium models is proposed which takes into account excess demands or supplies as result of rationing. This adaptation is applied to a multi-level CES-type household. It turns out that the computational burden of this example stays limited as compared with calibration without rationing.     

AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF EXPERIENCES WITH MONETARY TARGETING: A REACTION FUNCTION APPROACH

Monetary targets have been instituted in major countries for nearly a decade. There has been a rather wide variety of experience with them, both in the control procedures and in the success with which targets have been achieved. This paper presents results of a reaction function investigation into the extent to which elements of discretionary monetary policy remained even under targeting. Generally, targets probably were successful in focusing central bank attention on the long run. But a conclusion here is that distinguishable elements of discretion (as opposed to rule), evidenced by movements in targeted aggregates themselves, were present for several countries, including the United States.     

Correlates of Drug Testing Attitudes in a Sample of Blue Collar Workers

Using responses from 1429 workers employed in the wood products industry, we examine the relationship between drug testing (DT) attitudes and several demographic, organizational, job attitude, and job outcome variables. After controlling for age and marital status, analyses revealed moderate correlations between DT attitudes and alcohol and drug variables, DT program characteristics, organizational, and work attitude variables. DT attitudes were weakly but significantly related to absences, late work arrivals, accidents, and injuries. Implications of the findings and future research suggestions are discussed.     

“Skewness and Stock Option Prices”, Hans Gerber and Bruno Landry,July 1997

We determine the optimal amount of life insurance for a household of two wage earners. We consider the simple case of exponential utility, thereby removing wealth as a factor in buying life insurance, while retaining the relationship among life insurance, income, and the probability of dying and thus losing that income. For insurance purchased via a single premium or premium payable continuously, we explicitly determine the optimal death benefit. We show that if the premium is determined to target a specific probability of loss per policy, then the rates of consumption are identical under single premium or continuously payable premium. Thus, not only is equivalence of consumption achieved for the households under the two premium schemes, it is also obtained for the insurance company in the sense of equivalence of loss probabilities.     

Making competition in health care work

Health care reform in the United States is on a collision course with economic reality. Most proposals focus on measures that will produce one-time cost savings by eliminating waste and inefficiency. But the right question to ask is how to achieve dramatic and sustained cost reductions over time. What will it take to foster entirely new approaches to disease prevention and treatment, whole new ways to deliver services, and more cost-effective facilities? The answer lies in the powerful lessons business has learned over the past two decades about the imperatives of competition. In industry after industry, the underlying dynamic is the same: competition compels companies to deliver constantly increasing value to customers. The fundamental driver of this continuous quality improvement and cost reduction is innovation. Without incentives to sustain innovation in health care, short-term cost savings will soon be overwhelmed by the desire to widen access, the growing health needs of an aging population, and the unwillingness of Americans to settle for anything less than the best treatments available. The misguided assumption underlying much of the debate about health care is that technology is the enemy. By assuming that technology drives up costs, reformers neglect the central importance of innovation or, worse yet, attempt to slow its pace. In fact, innovation, driven by rigorous competition, is the key to successful reform.